The Beginning Teacher Mentoring Handbook

Board Reviewed 2018Cooper County R-IV

Governed by:The Professional Development Committee

Professional Development for Educators, by Educators

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The Beginning Teacher Mentoring Handbook

Table of Contents

Rationale, Purpose, and Plan 3

Mentor Teachers 4

Mentee’s Responsibilities 6

Administrator Responsibilities 6

Professional Development Committee Responsibilities 6

Professional Development Plan Goals 8

Mentor -- Mentee Quarterly Logs 9

Instructional Tips 13

Discussion Guide 16

Checklist of District and Classroom Procedures 19

Observation Forms 21

Mentor Program Evaluation 21

Teacher Standards 23

Top-Notch Teachers Article 27

Licensure System for Teachers 32

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The Beginning Teacher Mentoring Handbook

Cooper County R-IV Mentor Program

Rationale: The mentoring program is implemented to give supervision and role modeling to teachers new to the district. This program is based on the following three assumptions:

1. Beginning teachers face a challenge as they enter their profession2. Beginning teachers come into the profession with great potential that, if tutored and

channeled properly, can enhance the school system3. Beginning teachers can benefit from the support and expertise of skilled, experiences

mentors.

Purpose Statement: We, the faculty of Cooper County R-IV School, establish this Mentoring Program to involve experienced teachers of the Cooper County R-IV School District in the guidance of teachers new to the system. This program will assist in providing safe and more secure environment in which new teachers can become established and further develop teaching and management skills. Therefore, educational opportunities of each student are maximized.

District Plan: The Mentor Program will consist of mentor, mentee, PDC members, and administration. The PDC will be responsible for general administration guidelines, general recommendations, and annual district-wide evaluation of the effectiveness of the program. The representative will be responsible for specific recommendations to fit the special needs of the Cooper County R-IV CSIP.

Copies of the initial plan and revisions should be kept on file. The PDC will develop a system to monitor the completion of the plan so proper reporting of progress can be established. Discussions about a professional development plan and a mentoring plan applies to all teachers who have had no teaching experience, including teachers teaching with provisional certification.

Mentor Teachers: The Excellence in Education Act suggests and the rule for teacher certification (5CSR 80-800.010) requires that beginning teacher support systems include a two year mentor program. A mentor teacher has been described as a “coach, trainer, positive role model, developer of talent, [and] opener of doors.” The mentor teacher is a “helper,” not an “evaluator.” Although the law does not specify eligibility criteria, districts may wish to consider several factors when selecting mentors. Experienced teachers who have demonstrated success in the classroom, are open to continued training, and have a positive attitude toward mentoring should be recruited as mentor teachers. Ideally, a mentor would be a faculty member with certification and experience in the same area as the beginning teacher or one at the same grade level as the beginning teacher. An administrator certificated at the same level as the beginning teacher could also serve as a mentor. Small neighboring districts may consider cooperating to arrange beneficial mentor relationships.

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The principal is responsible for identifying and asking teachers to serve as mentors. Mentor teachers should be identified and mentor relationships should be established so that adequate time is available to help beginning teachers prepare their initial professional development plans.

Thorough and consistent development of mentor teachers is very important to the success of the program. A district’s professional development committee, in cooperation with the district’s administration, should design or arrange activities for mentors. The program for mentors should address these topics:

● The role and responsibilities of the new teacher’s professional development team: the new teacher, the mentor teacher, the supervisor (typically the building principal), and the higher education representative.

● Coaching and counseling techniques.● The format and content of the professional development plan.

Mentoring is NOT just meeting to face-to-face dialogue, sharing ideas, or problem solving. Working together on the real work of a classroom teacher is meaningful professional development. Planning for student learning is the ONLY staff development worth doing. Consider using one or a variety of these “job-embedded” ideas with your new teacher:

● Develop material displays, bulletin boards, etc.● Share and analyze case studies.● Attend and discuss seminars.● Conduct action research projects. ● Plan lessons/units together; share the outcomes of teaching those lessons.● Plan a field trip.● Form and/or join a study group that includes your new teachers.● Research on the Internet.● Observe and give feedback to one another.● Attend professional meetings.● Read and discuss journals, educational magazines, books.● Keep an interactive reflection log or journal.● View an educational video.● Visit other schools.● Develop curricula.● Work on school improvement projects.● Examine technological resources to supplement.

A nurturing process, in which a more skilled or more experienced person, serving as a role model, teaches, sponsors, encourages, counsels, and befriends a less skilled or less experienced person for the purpose of promoting the latter’s professional and/or personal development. Mentoring functions are carried out within the context of an ongoing, caring relationship between the mentor and protégé (Anderson, 1987).

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Beginning teachers will be assigned a mentor who will assist them in their transition to the classroom. The building principal will be responsible for selecting and placing mentors as soon as possible once the district hires new teachers.

Qualifications: Mentors must have three years of teaching experience and be trained as a mentor. Training will be during the summer preceding the year of service. A mentor should be at the grade level and/or subject is comparable to the instructional level of the beginning teacher.

Job Responsibilities: The mentor will assist the new teacher in the preparation and adaptation of their professional growth plan (PDP). The mentor should have opportunities to meet with and counsel the beginning teacher, as needed offering personalized, non-evaluative support and encouragement. Areas of assistance should include the following:

● Locating resources (people, publications, organizations)● Parent conferencing● Setting up gradebook● Developing tests and other learning assessments● Adapting materials to individual needs● Developing classroom rules and management skills● Organizing and arranging the classroom● Sharing ideas● Explaining the teacher evaluation model● Observing and providing feedback to beginning teachers, which could include

videotaping class and observing experienced teachers● Complete mentor log● Complete mentor self-evaluation to turn in to the PD committee building representative ● Help teacher with goals listed

The Professional Development Committee recommended the school district provided at least half-day per quarter release time for the purpose of allowing observations in the mentor and mentee classrooms, discussions of problems and situations for which the mentee needs assistance and training on building level programs (SIS, guided reading, etc.).

Buddy System: Any teacher who does NOT need to be mentored, but is new to the district will be appointed a building level buddy. The buddy will assist the teacher in learning about district and building level activities. The mentor checklist can be used as a resource for covering the topics for the new teachers. However, the checklist does NOT have to be completed and turned in to the PD committee building representative.

Mentee’s Responsibilities:

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❏ Engages in personalized two-way professional dialogue. Shares mutual respect with mentor and engages in both formal and informal communication.

❏ Seeks support and assistance on a regular basis and reflects with mentor and colleagues.

❏ Writes down questions to ask mentor and engages in an in-depth conversation while seeking answers to questions.

❏ Seeks ideas from colleagues and accepts advice. Uses a team-based approach to solving problems.

❏ Attends and documents in-service. Documents reflections, as well as activities, keeps logs and uses a checklist of certification requirements, mentoring program, PDP, in-service, performance-based teacher evaluations and other related topics.

❏ Observes veteran teacher(s) and completes observation form.

Administrator Responsibilities: A district administrator serves as a member of the beginning teacher’s professional development team. More than one district administrator may serve as part of the team. District administrators that will work with the mentoring program include the Superintendent.

❏ Providing time and establishing resources to allow observations to take place.❏ Defining the mentor's roles, providing coaching techniques and coaching mentors.❏ Evaluating the mentor process.❏ Creating a supportive, encouraging environment. ❏ Selecting mentors based on specific criteria.❏ Supporting teachers, both beginning and mentor, by setting aside time for learning and

providing resources.

Professional Development Committee Responsibilities: As a result of the Excellence in Education Act passed by the legislature and enacted in 1985, every school district in Missouri must have a professional development committee. The responsibilities of this committee include:

❏ Serving as a confidential consultant upon a teacher's request, as well as assisting staff member in coping with internal and external crisis, job stress, and burnout.

❏ Overseeing and assisting in the mentoring program.❏ Providing information on available college credit courses seminars, and workshop to

staff members.❏ Identifying instructional concerns and remedies.

The Excellence in Education Act requires the district to establish a professional development program specifically for beginning teachers who have no prior teaching experience. The district's program for beginning teachers with no prior teaching experience will help these beginning teachers polish their skills, improve their chances for success, and encourage them to stay in the teaching profession.

High Quality Professional Development

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All children deserve to be taught by highly qualified teachers, and all teachers deserve the opportunity to be involved in high-quality professional development. The following criteria can be used to identify high-quality professional development.

It will:❏ actively engages teachers, over time.❏ be directly linked to improve student learning so that all children may meet the learning

standards at the proficient level.❏ be directly linked to district and building school improvement plans.❏ be developed with extensive participation of teachers, parents, principals, and other

administrators.❏ be supported by district and building leadership.❏ provide teachers with the opportunity to give the district feedback on the effectiveness of

participation in this professional development activity.

Some types of activities that might be considered high-quality professional development, if they meet the above requirements, are:

❏ study groups.❏ grade-level collaboration and work.❏ content-area collaboration and work.❏ specialization-area collaboration and work.❏ action research and sharing of findings.❏ modeling.❏ peer coaching.❏ vertical teaming.

Topics for high-quality professional development may include:❏ content knowledge related to standards and classroom instruction.❏ instructional strategies related to content being taught in the classroom.❏ improving classroom management skill.❏ a combination of content knowledge and specific teaching skills.❏ the integration of academic and vocational education.❏ research-based instructional strategies.❏ strategies to assist teachers in providing instruction to children with limited English

proficient and to improve their language and academic skills.❏ instruction in methods of teaching children with special needs.❏ involving families in improving the learning of all students.❏ strategies for integrating technology into instruction.❏ research and strategies for the education and care of preschool children.

To be considered high-quality professional development, an activity must meet all seven of the first criteria and at least one in each of the other two sets of criteria.

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One day workshops and short-term conferences or workshops are not considered high-quality professional development, unless they are part of an ongoing program or plan and may not be funded with federal funds. A district may still fund some of these activities out of professional development or other funds they have, but they are not considered high-quality. Finally, professional development activities should be regularly evaluated for impact on teacher effectiveness and improved student learning (Standard 5).

Professional Development Plan GoalsMentor will help beginning teachers with the following goals.

Instructional Process❏ Discuss the teacher evaluation model❏ Identify grading process and test procedures❏ Explain process for distribution of books

Classroom Management❏ Identify classroom management procedures on discipline❏ Report clerical responsibilities concerning gradebook, attendance, plan book, report

cards, mid-term grade, and lunch money/count❏ Discuss use of copy machines❏ Discuss organization procedures: Art, Music, P.E., Library, Computers❏ Discuss procedures for assemblies, fire, and tornado drills

Interpersonal Responsibilities❏ Identify channels for parent/teacher communications❏ Discuss social expectations in and out of classroom❏ Discuss opportunities for networking with fellow teachers❏ Discuss the cultural and socioeconomic background of the community

Professional Responsibilities❏ Discuss school board policy book❏ Discuss involvement in professional organizations❏ Discuss Professional Development Handbook❏ Discuss professional dress

Other❏ Goals related to teaching assignment not covered by the above topics

Mentor -- Mentee First Quarter Log

Please check all activities accomplished and list the approximate date it occurred.

We:

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❏ __________ met and developed a working relationship❏ __________ set up monthly meeting times❏ __________ discuss resources❏ __________ set date to observe in mentor’s class❏ __________ set date to observe mentee❏ __________ discussed 1st quarter grades and parent-teacher conferences❏ __________allowed time for informal discussion

Notes:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Signatures verify that we have accomplished the activities checked off above on the dates listed.

______________________________________________Mentor

______________________________________________Mentee

____________________ Date

Mentor -- Mentee Second Quarter Log

Please check all activities accomplished and list the approximate date it occurred.

We:❏ __________ talked about 2nd quarter grades❏ __________ discussed classroom problems

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❏ __________ scheduled second classroom observation❏ __________ discussed professional development opportunities ❏ __________ scheduled time to observe another teacher❏ __________allowed time for informal discussion

Notes:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Signatures verify that we have accomplished the activities checked off above on the dates listed.

______________________________________________Mentor

______________________________________________Mentee

____________________ Date

Mentor -- Mentee Third Quarter Log

Please check all activities accomplished and list the approximate date it occurred.

We:❏ __________ scheduled third classroom observation❏ __________ discussed 3rd quarter grades❏ __________ discussed upcoming special events (contests, etc.)❏ __________ reviewed retention policies and procedures

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❏ __________ scheduled time to observe another teacher

Notes:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Signatures verify that we have accomplished the activities checked off above on the dates listed.

______________________________________________Mentor

______________________________________________Mentee

____________________ Date

Mentor -- Mentee Fourth Quarter Log

Please check all activities accomplished and list the approximate date it occurred.

We:❏ __________ discussed 3rd quarter grades❏ __________ discussed upcoming special events (contests, etc.)❏ __________ informally evaluated program❏ __________ discussed checkout procedures

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Notes:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Signatures verify that we have accomplished the activities checked off above on the dates listed.

______________________________________________Mentor

______________________________________________Mentee

____________________ Date

Instructional TipsHelp make your classroom run more effectively.

❏ Signal the class that someone else may be called on to ask, clarify, or summarize another student's response.

❏ While some students are performing a task at the whiteboard, require others to do the same task in a workbook or worksheet.

❏ Call on students in a random or unpredictable pattern.

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❏ Ask questions of the class in a fashion that implies that anyone of them could be asked to respond.

❏ Make use of wait time after asking the question and after the student's initial response.

❏ Have materials ready so that your planning and preparation are not the cause of students being off task.

❏ To keep students motivated, vary your routines and materials.

❏ Plan for and provide appropriate activities for the early finishers and the “nothing-to-do” students (not just more of the same). Consider provisions to meet the needs to slower paces students, such as modifying assignments, giving help, or allowing additional time. Beware of holding up the majority of the class for these slower paced students.

❏ Provide frequent shifts of activities as opposed to long periods of just listening, copy, or completing multiple worksheets.

❏ Consider ways to reduce the time the students are waiting: for the teacher, lining up, etc.

❏ Realize that busy work types of duplicating sheets may keep students occupied but may not be a worthy “on task” activity.

❏ Increase teacher-student academic interactions. Ask students more questions including open ended, critical, and creative types.

❏ Make certain that high, yet reasonable expectations for all students are clearly stated.

❏ Move around the room regularly and systematically to ensure on-task behavior and to answer student questions.

❏ Plan smooth transitions between instructional activities thereby reducing off-task behavior.

❏ Make a “to do” list every morning. Check off tasks as they are completed.

❏ Train students to hand papers in, right side up, with their names at the top, into your completed work basket. Have a basket for each subject or class so papers are sorted for you.

❏ Assign each student a partner. When a student is absent, hi/her partner can gather notes, handouts, and assignments that the absent student has missed.

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❏ When you put student(s) names in your gradebook, number the names in consecutive order. Have students write their name and number on their papers. You (or a student) can quickly put papers in order You can easily see which papers are missing and when they're corrected, they will be in the correct order to put into your gradebook.

❏ Use an answer column along the right margin of the paper when doing math assignment from textbooks or short answer assignments. Have students transfer answers from the problem to the answer column. You can correct half a dozen papers at a time by looking at several answer columns. (Learning to copy answers into an answer column carefully is an important skill, especially for taking standardized tests.)

❏ Make a stencil from which you can cut out the answers to check multiple choice answer sheets.

❏ Put answers on a word document to have students check multiple choice answer sheets.

❏ Parents may be able to help with some clerical work such as typing a newsletter, preparing materials, preparing book club order, laminating, etc.

❏ For short warm-up activities, cut worksheets into mini-strips, containing four or five items. This mini worksheets can be done in a few minutes and helps to prepare students for the lesson to come.

❏ Designate one spot on the whiteboard where you write what students should do as soon as they enter your classroom. Teach students to look there and begin without wasting time. It will give an orderly beginning to your classes. (Good time to use a mini worksheet, see above.)

❏ Write frequently used directions on a chart instead of the whiteboard. When needed, hang the chart on the whiteboard. Good idea for: assignment guidelines, book report outline, paper heading, studying for test, etc.

❏ If you classroom is far away from the office or teacher workroom, keep a supply box “hidden” somewhere. Include: pens, pencils, scissors, class lists with students phone numbers, tape, etc.

❏ Save time by designing your own lesson plan book. Take a page from your book and put in room numbers, times, subjects, special classroom, and any other constant features. Duplicate this page and when you make your lesson plans weekly, you’ll only need to add the lessons for the week.

❏ Place extra copies of worksheets in a “homework box.” Students can keep themselves for extra credit or extra practice.

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❏ Identify your supplies (pencils, scissors, markers, etc.) with a marking or colored tape strip.

❏ Use a word document to write class notes and presentations instead of the whiteboard. This way you can date and save them, use them again, give them to an absent student, or review them on another day.

❏ Make a poster to keep a daily list of assignments for students who are absent.

❏ Ideas for “floating” teachers: Make a box or use a cart to keep your “desk” materials with you as you travel from room to room.

❏ Re-file your material as soon as possible so you can find them later.

❏ Have a bulletin board that includes: special class schedules, announcements, lunch menu, or important things you or your substitute might need.

❏ Use a pocket or desk calendar to keep track of future important events and lesson plans.

❏ Make two blank copies of student worksheets for used and future copies.

❏ Teach students to do as many clerical tasks as possible.

❏ Laminate often used materials for reuse.

Discussion Guide

Building Tour:○ School layout○ Restrooms○ Lounge○ Office○ Workroom○ Custodian room○ Audio visual equipment○ Bus entrance○ Teacher parking○ Rooms for specialists, nurse, counselor, administrator, etc.

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Building Procedure: ○ Absentee forms○ Hours for teachers: building use and other times○ Duties: recess, before school, and after school○ Movement of children: entry/exit routes, drills, lunchroom, etc.○ Student and teacher dress codes○ Lunch supervision and other teacher lunch information○ Homework and testing practices○ Student accidents and emergencies○ Pullout and inclusion programs

Access to Resources:○ Classroom and teaching supply requisitions, budget process○ AV equipment requests○ Computer access, email for teacher and student use○ Discretionary funds and receipts○ Shared equipment and materials○ Textbooks and supplemental materials○ Purchase orders○ Credit cards○ Curriculum guides and standards

Student Discipline:○ Behavior expectations for hallway, lunch, restroom, playground, etc.○ Establishing classroom behavior expectations○ Consequences for extreme behavior problems○ Expected staff supervision outside of classroom○ Referral process for students with special needs○ Professional responsibilities○ Develop and implement PDP○ In-service training log for PCI

Safety Procedures:○ Bus riders and walkers○ Student handbook○ Student checkout○ Drills○ Permission to publish students work○ School nurse referrals○ Crisis management plan

Checklist of District and Classroom ProceduresCompleted checklist will be submitted to administration prior to students’ first day of school.

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Our district has a set of guidelines in place. Mentor and mentees should review before the school year begins. Check as they are discussed. Policies should be established prior to students’ first day of school.

Beginning Class:❏ Roll call, absent, tardy❏ Academic Expectations❏ Distributing Materials❏ Class Routines

Room/School Area:❏ Teachers❏ Student Centers❏ Learning Environment❏ Playground❏ Lunchroom❏ Hallways

Classroom Management:❏ Rules, Norms, etc.❏ Specials Routines❏ Assignment Expectations❏ Student Signals❏ Organizing Materials❏ Substitute Folder

Instructional Activities:❏ Centers, Lab, etc.❏ Movement❏ Expectations❏ Getting Out Materials❏ Putting Materials Away❏ Dismissing

Work Requirements:❏ Heading❏ Writing❏ Neatness❏ Incomplete, Late, and Makeup Work❏ Coloring/Drawing

Communicating Assignment:❏ Posting Assignments❏ Orally Giving Assignments

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❏ Assigning Homework

Checking Assignments in Class:❏ Students Exchanging Papers❏ Marking and Grading Papers❏ Turning In Assignments

Curriculum/Assessments:❏ Implementation of Assessments (scoring guides, prompts, graphic organizers, etc.)❏ Recording Grades❏ Student Portfolios❏ Extra-Credit Work❏ Curriculum Guide

Academic Feedback:❏ Rewards and Incentives❏ Posting Student Work❏ Communicating With Parents❏ Written Comments on Assignments

Other Issues Addressed:❏ _________________________❏ _________________________❏ _________________________

Program Evaluation

Please check who is taking the survey: _____ Mentor _____Mentee

The Professional Development Committee requests that you complete the following questionnaire. Return to the office by April.

1. Estimate the time per week spent working with your mentor/mentee throughout this school year.

2. Were the classroom observations that you did beneficial? Please explain.

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3. Did you feel that your mentor/mentee was an appropriate fit for grade level/content area? Please explain.

4. Was the Mentoring Handbook useful? Please expand on beneficial and/or less useful areas for us to improve.

5. Should any other information be added to the handbook? Are there other resources that would be helpful to our mentoring program?

6. Did you feel like the administrator lunches were beneficial to the mentee?

7. Are there ways that administrators or the Professional Development Committee can better support the mentoring program

8. What do you see as the positive aspects of our mentoring program?

9. What do you see the needs to be addressed to improve our mentoring program?

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10. Other comments, questions, or concerns?

Thank you for your input. At Cooper County R-IV, we value your opinion.

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Top-Notch Teachers Found to Affect PeersBy: Debra Viadero

Teachers raise their games when the quality of their colleagues improves, according to a new study offering some of the first evidence to document a “spillover effect” in teaching.

Authors C. Kirabo Jackson and Elias Bruegmann based their findings on an analysis of 11 year of data on North Carolina school children. The study is is due to published in October in American Economics Journal: Applied Economics, a peer-reviewed journal.

The authors and some independent experts said that the study results are important, because they carry implications for school staffing practices and debates going on now at the national level over how to structure merit-pay plans for teachers.

“If it’s true that teachers are learning from their peers, and the effects are not small, then we want to make sure that any incentive system we put in place is going to be fostering that and not preventing it,” said Mr. Jackson, an assistant professor of labor economics at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. “If you give the reward at the individual level, all of a sudden my peers are no longer my colleagues--they’re my competitors. If you give it at the school level, then you’re going to foster feelings of team membership, and that increases the incentive to work together and help each other out.”

Studies outside of education have long shown that effective workers can have a spillover effect on their colleagues and berry-pickers tend to calibrate their working speed to that of friends laboring nearby. But studies up until now have not noted the same pattern in teaching, a profession in which it’s long been thought that peers work mostly in isolation.

For their study, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Bruegmann focused on mathematics and reading test-score data for students in 3rd through 5th grades, most of whom would have had the same teacher for all of their core academic subjects. They measured teacher quality in two ways: by tracking “observable” characteristics, such as whether teachers were experienced or certified, and by calculating how effective teachers were at raising the test scores of their students. The latter a “value-added” calculation, was figured using data from teachers’ previous students.

‘Big Enough’ Effects

Either way, the researchers found, student achievement rises across a grade when a high-quality teacher comes on board. The effects were twice as strong, though, for the value-added calculations. They show that, for the average educator teaching in a grade with three other teachers, replacing once peer with a more effective one has a spillover effect of 0.86 percent of a standard deviation on students’ test scores.

For math, that equates to roughly one-tenth to one-fifth the size of the impact that is estimated to come from replacing the students’ own teacher with a better one, the paper says.

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“He [Mr. Jackson] has some pretty good evidence, as good as you can get in an observational study, that when a good teacher shows up in your grade it seems to have a positive impact, and that impact stays around,” said Douglas O. Staiger, an economics professor at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, was was not part of the study on peer effects.

Another outside expert, Jonah Rockoff, an assistant professor of labor economics at Columbia University’s business school in New York City, concurred. “The effects are big enough that they would matter,” he said. “If we think about rewarding teachers based on student outcomes, teachers are going to care about who’s teaching alongside of them.”

They said the question now is: Do the test scores rise because the new teacher’s arrival is motivating peers to do better, because that teacher is helping out other teachers by doing some of the teachings, or because teachers are learning from their new colleague?

In the paper, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Bruegmann argue that peer learning is the likely explanation, mostly because they find that the effects persist over time. In both math and reading, the quality of a teacher’s peers a year or two before affects his or her students’ achievement, according to their report.

“If it’s motivation, when you’re no longer surrounded by the peer who’s making you work harder, then you shouldn't still be working harder,” Mr. Jackson said.

The study also finds that good teachers seem to have the most impact on beginning teachers, we well as those who are certified or have regular teaching licenses.

Informal Mentors?

Mr. Rockoff said the idea that teachers, especially beginners, are learning from more-effective colleagues on an informal basis could explain why recent studies, including one released this week by Mathematica Policy Research, are finding that formal teacher-induction programs are not any more effective than business as usual at reducing teacher turnover or boosting student achievement.

In the new study, which looks at comprehensive teacher-induction programs in 17 districts across the country over two years, researchers at the Princeton, NJ-based research ground found that such programs are not any more effective than business as usual at reducing teacher turnover or boosting student achievement.

In an unpublished working paper of New York City teachers, Mr. Rockoff said he also finds “weak” evidence of effects from a formal mentoring program on teacher absences, teacher retention, and student achievement. He did, however, find a link between more hours of mentoring and high student achievement in reading and math.

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Staffing Questions

“It’s not that new teachers are showing up before and no one is helping them do anything,” he said. But another problem, he added, may also be that highly structured mentoring programs—ones that might, for example, require mentors to spend a specified amount of time with all new teachers—might be taking away valuable time that more-skilled beginners might be able to use doing more productive activities, such as planning lessons.

Mr. Jackson and Mr. Rockoff said the new peer-effects findings raise questions about the way schools are staffed, particularly urban schools. Studies have shown, for instance, that teachers in urban schools tend to be less experienced and hold fewer credentials than their suburban counterparts.

“A lot of beginning teachers end up in inner-city schools and move to suburban districts,” Mr. Jackson said. “Sending the teachers who need the most guidance to be surrounded by teachers who are the least well-equipped might be a problem. We need to make sure we have some high-quality teachers in inner-city school districts.”

Experts said more research is needed to figure out exactly how peer effects work among teachers.

“Can we take stellar teachers and move them around?” Mr. Staiger asks. “I’m not sure this paper actually says that. This is kind of the most compelling evidence we have to date that there are these spillover effects, and now we have to try to understand them.”

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Types of Missouri Certificates/Licenses

All are specific subjects or grade levels within a classification. Types of licenses vary from early childhood, elementary, middle-school subject specific, high-school subject specific, vocal music, special education, school psychologist, etc.

1. Initial certification is the first license a new educator receives. A minimum of a baccalaureate degree from a college/university having a teacher education program approved by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education of from a college/university having a teacher education program approved by the state education agency in states other than Missouri is required.

The applicant must have:● a recommendation for certification from the designated official for teacher

education in the college/university where the program was completed.● a grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale; both overall and in the content area.● completed the required Praxis test(s). A list of the Missouri Specialty Area Tests

with the qualifying scores can be found on the DESE website.

2. Career Continuous is a 99-year (permanent) license. It requires an individual to continue to maintain a professional development plan, have successful evaluations, and annually report professional development to the Department. Individuals who complete two of the three following items, no longer are required to report the professional development to the Department:

● ten years of certified experience● the next higher college degree (above the entrance requirement) ● national certification from a recognized agency

3. Provisional certification is a two-year , nonrenewable certificate for educators who lack a few hours of meeting all the requirements for full certification. The largest numbers of provisional certificates are issued to individuals who are enrolled in a college-based alternative/innovative program, have not yet passed their required Praxis test, or are adding areas to an existing certificate. A provisional certificate is issued at the request of an employing district and may require an academic contract with a college or university.

4. Temporary certificates are on-year, renewable certificates that are issued to individuals who have a bachelor's degree in a content or closely-related field and who agree to meet a variety of requirements --including taking a number of college courses in pedagogy and passing the appropriate Praxis II test(s). A temporary certificate is issued at the request of an employing district.

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